Safety valve



g- 1940- A. G. BLANCHARD El" AL 2,212,997

SAFETY VALVE Filed Sept. 11, 1939 Patented Aug. 27, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,212,991 SAFETY vALvE.

Application September 11, 1939, Serial No. 294,296

I 5 Claims. (Cl. 137-53) This invention relates to safety valves and a v particularly to valves of the pop-off type used for the release of gaseous fluids from within pres- .surevessels when such fluid exceeds a prede- V5 termined' pressure.

' The primary object of the invention is to provide a deviceof the class described which is accurate inoperation and one which maintains such accuracy during long periods of use.

10 Another'object is to provide a safety valve structure in which means is provided for protecting the closure 'sp'ringand associated parts from the vaporsv released, byIthe valve as well as the high temperaturesof the vapors.

18 still another object is to provide a safety valve in which the ratio of the effective valve opening to the valve displacement is controlled.

It is also an object to provide a safety valve of such construction that the escaping fluid is 20 instrumental in eifeotinga pressure upon the valve to cooperate with the usual spring pressure and assist in closing the valve.

It is also an object to provide a safety valve which includes a manually operable lever for 25 opening the valve at will, means being provided to counterbalance the lever so that automatic operation of the valve will not be affected thereby.

Still another object .is to provide a device of 30 the class described including a valve having uiding fins which are adapted to engage the seat ring and accurately guide the valve to and from its seat.

The foregoing objects together with others will 35 be apparent from the following description considered in connection with the drawing in which:

Fig. l is a vertical sectional view thru aconstruction illustrating one embodiment of the invention;

40 Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view partly in section showing a modified construction in which the manually operable lever is counterbalanced;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 in Fig. 1;

45 In the form selected for illustrating the invention the valve base I is adapted to'be secured to a pressure vessel with which the device is used. This base has its internal bore enlarged at 2 to receive a seat ring 3 having an upwardly 50 facing valve seat 4 upon which the valve 5 is positioned when the valve is closed. The valve is urged to closed position by means of the spring 6 bearing upon the upper end of the valve stem 1.

A valve cage generally referred to as l ex- 55 tends upwardly from the base I and includes ribs II to which a conical downwardly extending deflector is secured. 'A head I3 at the upper end of the ribs ll serves to provide an adjustable abutment for the upper end of the spring 6. A bonnet l surmounts the head H to support the l popping lever It so that the valve may be actuated manually if desired.

The bore of the seat ring 2 is of such diameter as to slidably receive guiding fins or wings 20 on the valve 5. These guiding flns are prefer- 10 ably equal to or greater in length than the diameter of the valve and are also of such length that the lower outer edges 2| thereof will not enter the bore of the seat ring above the chamfer 2| at the lower end thereof. By means of the construction just described the tendency of the valve to cant is minimized and it is also impossible for the lower edge 2| of the flns to enter the bore and gouge or otherwise wear the inner wall of the valve seat.

Attached to the periphery of the seat ring 3 at its upper end is an orifice control ring which has an outwardly converging annular surface 26 adjacent which the valve 5 moves. There is therefore provided an annular, opening be- 25 tween the valve and this ring, the cross section of such opening varying with the displacement of the valve from the seating surface 4. Hence the effective orifice or opening of the valve is dependent upon the position of the valve mem- 30 her 5 axially of the control ring 25.

The valve member 5 is chamfered peripherally at 21 to provide a surface against which the escaping fluid impinges as it leaves the annular orifice between the valve member and the ring 25. In this manner a downward forceis produced upon the valve member 5, such force assisting the valve 6 in returning the valve to its seat when the pressure of the actuating fluid has fallen a predetermined amount.

The valve stem 1 fits within an opening axially of the valve 5 and has a ball 30 fitting within its lower end and abutting a wear resistant insert 3|. This stem is held in place by means of a bushing 32 of such dimension as to fit closely within the opening 33 at the lower end of the deflector II. By means of this construction the deflector serves not only to deflect the escaping gases outwardly but also as a stop which determines the uppermost limit of travel of the valve which, as already explained, is such that the lower edges 2| of the wings 20 do not enter within the seat. rings 3. 7

Pressure is applied directly to the valve stem 1 by means of a collar 40 engaging the lower end of the spring I and an enlargement 4| on the valve stem. The amount of pressure exerted by the spring C is determined by the adjustment of the bushing 42 threadedly mounted in the head II and secured in adjusted position therein by meansof a locked nut 43. The lower end of the bushing 42 engages collar 44 which bears upon the upper end of the spring I.

The valve stem 1 extends upwardly thru the bushing 42 into thebonnet l5 and thence thru an opening in the lever ll pivoted at l1 to the bonnet. This lever passes thru a slot I! in the opposite side of the bonnet and has an upwardly projecting surface which is engageable with the stop nut 22. It is believed apparent that by means of this construction the lever It may be manually actuated to lift the valve 5 or to assist in lifting such valve from its seat. At the same time the construction is such that the weight of the lever II has no effect upon the operation of the valve.

The construction just described is such that the lever Ii may be mounted in the manner shown in Fig. 2 whereby a downward pull upon such lever is more effective than it is when the lever is as illustrated in Fig. 1. In this modification, however, there is a constant tendency for the weight of the lever and associated pull cord ll to exert an upward pressure against the stop nut 22 and hence to modify the force actually exerted upon the valve stem to hold the valve in closed position. In order to obviate this tendency there is provided a leaf spring 50 which enters an opening in one of the ribs H and is secured in place therein by means of a set screw 5|. The upper end of the spring 50 is of such configuration as to engage the arm I6 and hold such arm upwardly against the force of gravity so that the opposite end of the arm will not engage the stop nut 22 unless an actuating pull is effected upon the cord M.

The advantages and operation of the construction as above described are believed apparent. By way of summary it will be pointed out that the valve 5 is held upon its seat by the spring 6 until suilicient pressure is generated within the container to which the device is attached to lift the valve from its seat. The distance of travel of the valve will depend upon the pressure exerted by the spring 6 as well as the rate at which pressure is (being generated within the container. Likewise the rate of discharge of such fluid will depend upon the distance of travel of the valve since the oriflced opening is determined by an annular space between the valve and the surface 26 of the orifice control ring 25.

Likewise the limit of travel is determined by the lower end of the deflector l2 and is such that the lower edges of the wings 2| will not enter the here within the seat ring 3. As the actuating pressure is reduced the spring 6 together with the downward force exerted by the pressure fluid upon the surface 21 will cause the valve to close and in this manner the desired functioning of the device is accomplished.

It is apparent that if desired the valve may be manually operated by means of a pull exerted upon the lever it as illustrated in either of Figs. 1 and 2.

Broadly the invention comprehends an improved construction of safety valve which is accurate in its operation and which is so constructed as to maintain such accuracy throughout a long period of use.

We claim:

1. A top outlet safety valve including a valve base, a valve seat therein, a valve on said seat, a cage extending upwardly from said base, a spring in said cage yieldingly urging the valve against its seat, and a conical steam deflector integral with the upstanding portions of the cage and having its lower end loosely surrounding the valve stem.

2. A top outlet safety valve including a valve base, a valve seat therein, a valve on said seat, a stem on said valve, a cage extending upwardly from said base, means within said cage for yieldingly urging the valve against the seat, and a conical steam deflector integral with said cage surrounding the valve stem adjacent the valve and extending upwardly and outwardly within the cage to deflect fluid away from said means.

3. In a top outlet safety valve the combination of an upwardly opening valve having a stem thereon, a spring yieldingly urging the valve against its seat, a cage surrounding said spring, said cage having upwardly extending ribs so that escaping fluid may pass outwardly of the cage, and an inverted conical deflector supported by the ribs and interposed between the valve and pri g. r

4. In 'a top outlet safety valve the combination of an upwardly opening valve having a stem thereon, a spring yieldingly urging the valve against its seat, a cage surrounding said spring, said cage having upwardly extending ribs so that wcaping fluid may pass outwardly of the cage, and an inverted conical deflector supported by the ribs and interposed between the valve and spring, the lower end of said deflector loosely surrounding the valve stem and serving as a stop to limit the upward travel of the valve.

5. A top outlet safety valve including, a valve base, an upwardly facing valve seat therein, an adjusting ring surrounding said seat, a valve on said seat, a spring yieldingly urging the valve against said seat, an annular outwardly tapering wall surrounding and above said valve, and an annular chamfer on the valve, the lower edge of which is below the top of the adjusting ring when the valve is closed and approximately fiush or higher when the valve is open to provide a surface for contact with escaping fluid whereby the force exerted thereon by the fluid aids the spring in closing the valve with a quick action.

ALVA G. BLANCHARD. OLLIE L. MULLOY. 

